Chinch bugs return to Calgary lawns this spring with a vengeance
What started as an issue for Calgary homeowners living in southeast communities has now spread to lawns across the city.
Chinch bugs are small insects that feed off of grass by sucking the juices out. While they're feeding, they inject a toxin that kills the plant. Telltale signs of the pests are dead patches in a healthy lawn where there are no pets present.
"This used to only be a problem the southeast, Copperfield, Auburn Bay, Mackenzie areas," said James Szojka, the owner of Yard Dawgs Lawn Care. "That's where we were doing 95 per cent of applications, this past year though we were in every single quadrant of Calgary, including Airdrie and Chestermere to treat the bugs."
Szojka says chinch bugs breed extremely fast and thrive in hot, dry weather. The bugs will migrate from lawn to lawn and they can completely annihilate a yard in as little as one season.
"What's interesting about this year so far is it's been very dry and very hot," he said. "Usually in May it's raining quite a bit so right now we're already starting to see some signs of chinch bugs starting to pop up."
HOME REMEDIES ERRATIC
Szojka says that cold Alberta winters don't kill the bugs because they find space under trees and shrubs to hibernate and then come out in the spring ready to kill more lawns. Szojka says there are home remedies listed on the web along with garden centre products homeowners try to use but in many cases are unsuccessful at eradicating the chinch bugs.
"As commercial applicators, we have access to much higher quality products," he said. "It's not much more expensive but what's more important is saving your lawn because re-sodding the lawn can be anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000 depending on the size and the access that a landscape would need to get to your property."
Szojka says chinch bugs breed extremely fast and thrive in hot, dry weather. The bugs will migrate from lawn to lawn and they can completely annihilate a yard in as little as one season.
YARD DAWGS
Nathan Tobias is the operations manager at Yard Dawgs and oversees 10 operators responding to calls all over the city. He's revisiting a northwest property with an infestation of chinch bugs that he last saw in the fall.
"It absolutely blows my mind just how crazy fast this happens," he said referring to all the dead patches in the yard. "I was here last year, notice they had some (bugs), we were only able to get one spray in before the end of the year and clearly we need to keep treating these here which is very important because the damage has just continued to spread."
The lawn belongs to Parul Mehta who says the family moved into the home one year ago.
"The lawn was so beautiful," said Mehta. "It was all green but late July, August we started seeing the yellow patches and notice that the grass is getting dead."
The family has lived in Canada for 22 years and moved around the country but have never heard of chinch bugs.
"One of our friends from southeast also got this type of same thing happening," she said. "He called us and we were told that this is what we found, so you better contact someone and get it investigated as well."
Szojka says spray application begins in mid-June because that's the best time to attack the pests and in some cases it takes more than one visit to kill all the bugs.
"If you don't treat it over time your lawn will be killed," he said. "They're going to take enough nutrients from the blades of grass where the roots are completely dead and the solution really is to re-sod the lawn or to completely reskin it."
Szojka recommends calling in a professional to diagnose the problem with a lawn and even phoning for a second opinion from another professional to confirm the issue.
Learn more about chinch bugs here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Downtown Vancouver stabbing suspect dead after being shot by police
A suspect is dead after being shot by police in a Vancouver convenience store after two people were injured in a stabbing Wednesday morning, according to authorities.
2 Canadians confirmed dead in Poland, as consular officials gather information
Two Canadians have died following an incident in Poland, CTV News has learned.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford calls Donald Trump 'funny guy' in Fox News interview
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called U.S. president-elect Donald Trump a 'funny guy' on Wednesday in an interview with Fox News for his comment that Canada should become the United States's 51st state.
DEVELOPING As police search for suspect, disturbing video surfaces after U.S. health-care CEO gunned down in New York
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed Wednesday morning in what investigators suspect was a targeted shooting outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding an investor conference.
Toddler fatally shot after his 7-year-old brother finds a gun in the family's truck
A two-year-old boy was fatally shot when his seven-year-old brother found a gun in the glovebox of the family's truck in Southern California, authorities said.
Millions in Cuba remain in dark after nationwide blackout
Cuba said it was generating only enough electricity to cover about 1/6th of peak demand late on Wednesday, hours after its national grid collapsed leaving millions without power.
'Utterly absurd': Freeland rebuffs Poilievre's offer of two hours to present fall economic statement
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has rebuffed Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's offer to give up two hours of scheduled opposition time next Monday to present the awaited fall economic statement as 'utterly absurd.'
Canada Post stores continue to operate during strike — but why?
As many postal workers continue to strike across the country, some Canadians have been puzzled by the fact some Canada Post offices and retail outlets remain open.
Mattel sued over 'Wicked' dolls with porn website link
Mattel was sued this week by a South Carolina mother for mistakenly putting a link to an adult film site on the packaging for its dolls tied to the movie 'Wicked.'